Public comment sought on Mt. McKinley Meat and Sausage plant

(Palmer, AK) – The Board of Agriculture and Conservation (BAC) is gathering public comments and will hold a public hearing on Thursday, March 31 regarding the potential sale or leasing of the Mt. McKinley Meat and Sausage (MMM&S) plant.

The State of Alaska has operated the meat plant since 1986 as an asset of the Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund. In recent months, industry has expressed interest in purchasing or leasing the plant. The plant is the only USDA-approved slaughter facility available to livestock owners in Southcentral Alaska.

Anyone who would like to provide verbal comments is invited to participate in the March 31 hearing, which will be from 1-3 p.m. in the conference room of the Division of Agriculture office in Palmer, located at 1800 Glenn Highway, Suite 12. The hearing will be teleconferenced (details below) and it will be extended if necessary to accommodate everyone who would like an opportunity to testify.

Written comments will be accepted by the BAC until 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, 2016. Documents may be mailed to Lora Haralson, 1800 Glenn Highway, Suite 12, Palmer, AK 99645, emailed to lora.haralson@alaska.gov or faxed to 907-745-7112. To participate in the hearing by teleconference, please call 1-800-315-6338 and enter code 12211# when prompted. Alternative communication accommodations may be arranged by contacting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator at TDD number 907-269-8411.